Honda Freed MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Pass rate, every year

88.8% Above average

1,421 tests across 7 model years, 2008–2014.

+7.8 pts vs the national average

MOT PASS RATES

How the Honda Freed really fares

88.8% of its MOTs pass — over 1,421 class-4 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rates

Every figure on this page comes from the DVSA's MOT test record.

The Honda Freed MOT pass rate is 88.8%, +7.8 percentage points above the UK average. That is 1,421 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2008 and 2014. This page lists the most common Honda Freed MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Honda Freed MOT pass rates does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Honda Freed MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Honda Freed passed on its first attempt in 87.4%, and its overall record sits +7.8 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Honda Freed in the 2023–2025 data: 1,421 tests across 7 model years (2008–2014). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

MeasureThis model
Tests analysed1,421
Overall pass rate88.8%
Passed on first attempt87.4%
Average mileage at test73,762 mi
Model years covered2008–2014 (7 years)
Versus UK national average+7.8 pts above

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Honda Freed MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Honda Freed, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Inspection section Share of failures Est. recorded instances
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 52% 150
Suspension 18% 52
Visibility 17% 50
Steering 10% 29
Tyres 2% 7
Brakes 0% 1

Shares are over the Honda Freed's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

Around 52% of the recorded Honda Freed failures fall in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (2.1%), "Rear fog lamp missing" (1.9%), "Position lamp not working" (1.5%) among the Honda Freed's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.

Suspension

Around 18% of the recorded Honda Freed failures fall in the Suspension section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (1.6%), "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (1.1%), "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (0.6%) among the Honda Freed's suspension faults.

Visibility

Around 17% of the recorded Honda Freed failures fall in the Visibility section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Wipers blade defective" (1.3%), "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (0.9%), "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (0.7%) among the Honda Freed's visibility faults.

Top Recorded Honda Freed DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Honda Freed, each with how many of the model's 1,421 tests it was noted on.

  • "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 30 Honda Freed tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Rear fog lamp missing" (Major) — noted on about 27 Honda Freed tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" (Minor) — noted on about 27 Honda Freed tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 23 Honda Freed tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Position lamp not working" (Rectified) — noted on about 21 Honda Freed tests, 1.5% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Stop lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 19 Honda Freed tests, 1.3% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Honda Freed Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Honda Freed model year on record is 2014 (96.8% across 126 tests), and the weakest is 2010 (84.2%). The gap between them is 12.6 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Honda Freed reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 2.5 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Year Tests Pass rate First attempt Avg mileage Most common failure
2014 Freed 126 96.8% 96.7% 64,645 mi Driver's view of the road through the swept area of
2013 Freed 184 90.8% 89.9% 66,000 mi Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
2012 Freed 365 91.8% 91.1% 69,141 mi Rear fog lamp missing
2011 Freed 220 85.5% 83.2% 77,557 mi Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or dete
2010 Freed 234 84.2% 81.5% 72,612 mi Headlamp lens slightly defective
2009 Freed 202 84.7% 82.0% 78,596 mi Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover
2008 Freed 90 90.0% 89.0% 87,780 mi Stop lamp not working

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Honda Freed Owners

These checks follow this Honda Freed's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Honda Freed.

  • the lights — “headlamp lens slightly defective”

    Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

  • the suspension joints — “track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”

    With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.

  • the wipers and washers — “wipers blade defective”

    Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Honda Freed. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Honda Freed MOT & Reliability

What is the Honda Freed MOT pass rate?

88.8% of the 1,421 recorded Honda Freed MOT tests ended in a pass, +7.8 percentage points above the national average. 87.4% of those passed on the first attempt.

Which Honda Freed model years pass the MOT most often?

2014 is the strongest Honda Freed year on record at 96.8%, while 2010 is the weakest at 84.2%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.

What are the most common Honda Freed MOT failures?

The most recorded Honda Freed failures are "Headlamp lens slightly defective" and "Rear fog lamp missing" — together around 4% of tests, mostly in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section.